lots of detailed posts to come but the bags are still unpacked, the child hasn’t been washed in days and there is still a half bottle of home-made limoncello to be drank so you’ll just have to wait;)
Ciao!! Continue reading »

I’m a day late and €0.632711 short but here is my sweet Daring Bakers challenge for this month. Morven @ Food and Random Thoughts was in the mood for a party when she chose Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake and left it up to ourselves to choose the flavour. Continue reading »

I didn’t have much time for taking photographs this time in the Languedoc but here are a few shots which I took that I like.

Walking along the hills by the village you notice all the vines are remarkably neat, all have now been pruned to two, or even one shoot.
The wine growers have been out working slowly and hard on their vines all over Easter week end. Continue reading »

I didn’t have much time for taking photographs this time in the Languedoc but here are a few shots which I took that I like.

Walking along the hills by the village you notice all the vines are remarkably neat, all have now been pruned to two, or even one shoot.
The wine growers have been out working slowly and hard on their vines all over Easter week end. Continue reading »

I didn’t have much time for photographs this time in the Languedoc but here are a few shots which I like.

Walking along the hills by the village you notice all the vines are remarkably neat, all have now been pruned to two, or even one shoot.
The wine growers have been out working slowly and hard on their vines all over Easter week end.
The resulting fields are remarkably neat and uniform, the Peuch or hill in the back here is the Peuch Cemtiere which rises over the back of the village. Continue reading »

this is one of those recipes that gets pulled out again and again, for dinner parties, family gatherings and sunday dinners!! everyone asks my mom for the recipe and then when she goes to dinner they forget where they got it and make it for her!!! its from the delia smith summer collection book, before she started taking shortcuts!!!
I served this the same day as the prawns so apologies again for the lack of photos! Continue reading »

I’ve been away in Cumbria for Easter week and rather than feeling like spring it has felt more like winter. The day after we arrived we were wading ankle deep in the snow and the lambs in the neighbouring fields were wearing their little plastic macs to ward off the cold.

We stayed in an old barn conversion (The Heights) near Appleby-in-Westmorland, which was beautifully furnished and really cosy with absolutely gorgeous views. Continue reading »

This post is my protest to Mother Nature. As Hillary mentioned last week, the first day of Spring in Chicago came and went without so much as a break in the cold temperatures or a pause in the snow. We’re still quite cold and dreary here. And even though our loyal Cub’s fans are willing to pretend it’s baseball weather, I don’t think I’ll be in that mentality until I see some sunshine. Continue reading »

cooking sunday dinner avec boyfriend has become something of a ritual. we alternate families and dazzle them with our culinary masterpieces! its meant to be a team effort, but i have to admit i get a little bossy when there’s food involved! boyfriend is in the process of discovering that some vegetables are actually tasty and avocado is his current favourite…hence the prawns and avocado. Continue reading »

Today I’ve a tale of plonker of the week. I won’t name him because he’d be highly embarrassed… ah, sod it, I’ll do it. Take a bow Gerard Mulhern (the Punter’s Guide). After the Cheltenham Festival and a skinful of drink, our hapless ‘god of betting’ stumbled home, forgetting to get his usual kebab, chip and side order of kebab meat.It wasn’t a great day from all reports, the normally frugal Mulhern not bringing home any big wins. Continue reading »

This one is so good I am tempted to call it by its initials; Ahh ! Tart (but I wont.)
It is a direct consequence of the free availability of ground hazelnuts in our local Super U in Thezan, which I find very exotic, and bring home loads of them to use in desserts and cakes.
The other piece of serendipity was finding that some of Joe Moore’s apples were still in perfect nick in my shed, it must be something to do with the temperature this winter and spring. Continue reading »

This one is so good I am tempted to call it by its initials; Ahh ! Tart (but I wont.)
It is a direct consequence of the free availability of ground hazelnuts in our local Super U in Thezan, which I find very exotic, and bring home loads of them to use in desserts and cakes.
The other piece of serendipity was finding that some of Joe Moore’s apples were still in perfect nick in my shed, it must be something to do with the temperature this winter and spring. Continue reading »

This one is so good I am tempted to call it by its initials; Ahh ! Tart (but I wont.)
It is a direct consequence of the free availability of ground hazelnuts in our local Super U in Thezan, which I find very exotic, and bring home loads of them to use in desserts and cakes.
The other piece of serendipity was finding that some of Joe Moore’s apples were still in perfect nick in my shed, it must be something to do with the temperature this winter and spring. Continue reading »

Since I first wrote about the McDonnell’s Good Food Cookbooks I have had several emails asking for recipes that people remember from their childhood or enjoyed years ago but have since lost. The latest request, from Renee who wants to make the cake for a family occasion, is for the Tea Brack recipe from the first cookbook. Continue reading »

…and rattle those pots and pans. Han Bennink – he bangs the drums &c. – is coming to town tonight, to the Triskel, to make music. He’s joined by an accordionist and a clarinettist. I wish I could go. Here’s the link for the Triskel Arts Centre.
If you go, please leave a comment and let me know what I missed. Sometimes the imagined performances (I get to go to a lot of those) are very different from what actually happens. Continue reading »

One of the great advantages of achieving a certain age is that, without really doing anything about it, one finds one has achieved, with it, a certain gravitas.
The mad obsessions which one has harboured for years become endearing eccentricities and are no longer regarded as the manifestations of an unsound mind.
I have been plagued by obsessions for years, my son-in-law kindly calls them “interests”. Continue reading »

One of the great advantages of achieving a certain age is that, without really doing anything about it, one finds one has achieved, with it, a certain gravitas.
The mad obsessions which one has harboured for years become endearing eccentricities and are no longer regarded as the manifestations of an unsound mind.
I have been plagued by obsessions for years, my son-in-law kindly calls them “interests”. Continue reading »

One of the great advantages of achieving a certain age is that, without really doing anything about it, one finds one has achieved, with it, a certain gravitas.
The mad obsessions which one has harboured for years become endearing eccentricities and are no longer regarded as the manifestations of an unsound mind.
I have been plagued by obsessions for years, my son-in-law kindly calls them “interests”. Continue reading »

After last weekends blow out, this weekend called for something a little bit more reasonable though not necessarily less interesting.
M&S carry a wine labeled 2005 Maranaga Dam GSM (Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre) for ~€15, which has received some good reviews online (including one from Jancis Robinson). With a little inspection around the label one learns that this wine is in fact made by the much. Continue reading »

A long long time ago I received a tip from someone, I’m not sure who, about the Advanced Marketing Institute – Headline Analyzer. All you have to do is put in your proposed headline into the box and they will give you an idea as to the effectiveness of it all, ie is it likely to grab any attention? Try it; it’s fun! Continue reading »

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This November The Great Irish Bake is back and Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan is helping out with sharing recipes and promoting the event. The Great Irish Bake is in aid of helping sick and seriously ill children get the treatment they need. Head over to The Great Irish Bake to register online and be in the chance of winning a trip to New York when you help raise funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. The site also has hints, tips, recipes and all that goes with an event like this.

This is the Facebook for The Great Irish Bake and of course the Twitter hashtag is: #thegreatirishbake

The Great Irish Bake organisers have shared a recipe with us and also a picture of Donal Skehan with his kids from his first marriage. Some of this might be a lie.

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and
mix through.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice
and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.
5. Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter
or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.
6. Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven
7. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire
wrack.

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